News of: Saturday, 19th of July, 2008

Front Page

The Border Security Force of India (BSF) shot dead two Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) soldiers at Raghunathpur border under Shibganj upazila in Chainawabganj early yesterday intruding into Bangladesh territory, sparking off tension at all frontiers around the country.

Law enforcement agencies have identified 353 polling centres out of 579 as vulnerable to violence in elections in four city corporations scheduled for August 4, and launched crackdown on criminals working in favour of candidates.

Almost all protein sources are becoming unreachable to limited income group as well as the middle-class people as their prices have marked a sharp rise in the city markets and elsewhere in the country.

Short supply of fertilisers is affecting cultivation of Aman rice in northern region of the country creating uncertainty about achieving the production target this season, Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) officials said.

Poly, a Khiyang minority youth, takes up a "halong", a big basket to carry water, on her back a little before daybreak to fetch drinking water from a fountain. Her brows look knitted in a permanent frown as she leaves home with other women just like every other day. It will take at least three hours for them to bring water.

As degradation of soil fertility and depletion of groundwater level pose threats to agriculture, scientists say ploughing agricultural fields at the onset of monsoons and harnessing of rainwater can protect fertility of soil and the level of groundwater.

"From an ordinary village housewife owning not even a house to live in I now have my own house, five cows and a truck. It took 21 years, but I did it," says Monwara Begum of Dhamrai's South Kelia village describing the bumpy way to her success.

The Chief Adviser is to attend two citizens' dialogue in Srimangal of Moulvibazar and in Jalalabad Gas Auditorium in Sylhet city tomorrow before holding the cabinet meeting in Sylhet Monday, the first time since 1981 and the second time in Sylhet's history.

The body of a Bangladeshi cattle trader, shot dead by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) at a frontier village on Indian territory on June 27, was handed over to BDR on Thursday, 21 days after the incident.

Editorial

THE order of the high court to reappoint those judges, whose appointments were not confirmed by the erstwhile 4-party alliance government despite the recommendation of the Chief Justice, goes to reestablish the supremacy of the rule of law. It would in no small measure help enhance public confidence in the highest court of the country. The government must implement the order as soon as possible

CONTRARY to expectations that a bumper boro harvest will bring down cereal prices, these have only increased over the last several weeks. Concurrently, the world prices of rice and wheat have declined but these have not had a commensurate impact in lowering prices at our end. People's purchasing power constantly eroding, the ruling food price is eating up most of the household income.

MORE than six years on, the demanding marathon in Afghanistan appears to be testing the resources, and the will of the runners. Recent incidents have made it quite clear that Afghanistan's fate is on the edge and that the international community needs to engage itself more politically, rather than just militarily. At the same time they should ensure that Afghans themselves are in the driving seat. It is also becoming apparent to the NATO policy planners that they should, if possible, work jointly with the United Nations and the US so that the international community speaks to the Afghan government with one voice.

WITH prices rising almost every day and incomes remaining the same not only the poorest class but also the lower middle and middle class people are in dire strait. Compounding the problem already affecting every aspect of life, the sudden big rise in the price of petroleum products, linked with the livelihood and living of all classes of people has pushed them on the brink. The government handout explaining the rationale of hike in a bid to save the exchequer of the subsidy burden although appears somewhat logical but transferring the burden in a quick jump on the people already living on the margin seems to be a very unkind gesture to salvage a sinking economy.

BANGLADESH seems to be still at the beginning of its struggle for liberation of mind and socio-economic emancipation. It will be relevant to study the viewpoints of some eminent educationists and social scientists to formulate the subject- matter in its proper perspective.

The distinctive frameless spectacles, the studious Scandinavian manner and the ice blue tie all helped, but it was the pair of tall brunettes wearing short skirts by his side that really fooled Mexico.

While feats of athletic brilliance may be the main focus of cameras during the Beijing Olympics, the telegenic venues set to host the athletes will draw their own share of gasps from admiring spectators.

Metropolitan

The pre-Saarc South Asian People's Assembly began here yesterday with a call for making the regional bloc a real “people's union” to promote closer trade and socioeconomic integration among the people of the region.

The caretaker government (CG) has no right to sign any deal on oil and gas resources of the country keeping people in the dark during the state of emergency, said the leaders of National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Electricity and Port yesterday.

The engineering and technical education will have to be modernised and expanded across the country for creating skilled manpower which is one of the key ways to make the nation prosperous, speakers at a seminar said yesterday.

On the second day of the 8th conference of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) in the capital yesterday, the speakers demanded of the caretaker government (CG) to lift the state of emergency immediately.

Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed yesterday expressed his firm hope that all people, including farmers, workers, businessmen, students and youths, would always remain aware of their rights and responsibilities.

Students of Dhaka University (DU) brought out a torch procession on the campus last night demanding exemplary punishment to the Jamaat-Shibir cadres who assaulted freedom fighter Sheikh Muhammad Ali Aman.

Khairul Hasan Munna of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) and Rafiqul Islam Alok of the daily Sangbad were elected president and general secretary of Jahangirnagar University Journalists' Association (JUJA) for the term 2008.

National

Freedom fighters, political leaders and conscious citizens have continued protest against the recent assault of freedom fighter Sheikh Mohammad Ali Aman by Jamaat-Shibir cadres at a programme of 'Jatiya Muktijoddha Parishad' in the capital.

About 500 landless people of Bishnapur and Lohanipara unions in Badarganj upazila laid siege to the office of the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) and staged a sit-in demonstration yesterday in protest against an eviction drive.

In more bad news for the UPA, Congress MP from Haryana Arvind Sharma today attacked his party and the Manmohan Singh government for "targeting" BSP chief Mayawati and indicated that he may vote against the ruling coalition in the July 22 trust vote.

A United Nations decision to end aid flights to Myanmar next month could hurt relief efforts already struggling to reach millions of survivors with adequate food and water, humanitarian groups said yesterday.

Lawmakers in Nepal's newly elected Constituent Assembly will vote today to choose the first president of the republic, a key step in formation of a government as the constitutional head will swear in the new prime minister.

Arts & Entertainment

Chhayanat's monthly musical programme titled "Srotar Ashor" was held at the Ramesh Chandra Dutta Smriti Milankendra, Chhayanat Sanskriti Bhaban on July 17. The programme is held on the third Thursday of every month, featuring performances by upcoming and seasoned artistes.

A group of seven artists, under the banner "Space Visual Art", are holding their exhibition at Gallery Samatata. The imaginative, mind-boggling works are surrealistic, impressionistic and decorative. The display includes the works of Mahabubul Islam, Zahir Hossain, Rajaul Islam, Shahin Akther and Abdul Aziz.

Dhaka City was declared the capital of Bengal in 1608 (according to some historians, in 1610), when the Islam Khan was appointed as the Mughal Subahdar. Like other major cites, Dhaka is surrounded by rivers, though it hardly seems so now. Due to unplanned, rushed development, the rich heritage of this city is on the verge of decline.

Muraqqa is the Farsi term for a patched garment traditionally worn by Sufi mystics as a sign of poverty and humility. Yet it is also the word for a gilded and lavishly calligraphed album. This type of muraqqa, a luxury object from the Mughal empire in India, is a patchwork of imagery: portraits of emperors and courtiers, Eastern mystics and Western religious figures; examples of plant and animal life.

In the current state of filmmaking in Bangladesh, very little number of directors involved themselves with the making of documentaries. In this regard, Molla Sagor can be a notable name. The young filmmaker so far made few numbers of good documentaries on some crucial issues.

A street show to generate awareness on HIV/AIDS was arranged in Pabna recently. 'Family Planning Association of Bangladesh' (FPAB), Pabna district unit committee organised the street show campaign at the district headquarter. A play "Rahmat Amaderi" was performed at the street show.

DSCC Trust, Proshika and noted photographer-cinematographer Anwar Hossain intend to organise a fortnight-long workshop titled “Images and Aesthetics”, from August 25 to September 5 at the Proshika HRDC Trust, Koitta, Manikganj, according to a press release.

The photo caption with the article "Album of Nazrul Sangeet, arranged by Arnob, in the offing", published in the July 14th issue should have read "Clockwise (from top) Artistes Fahmida Nabi, Arnob and Kiran Chandra Roy perform at the programme." We regret this inadvertent error.

OP-ED

WE are reminded, increasingly frequently, of nature's potentially destructive power. Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, or the earthquake in Sichuan province of China, left hundreds of thousands of people dead and millions homeless.

APPARENTLY, Islamabad did not know how angry New Delhi was over the suicide bomb attack on its embassy in Kabul that killed 54 people, including two senior Indian officials. Pakistan's hand was seen straightaway. Still New Delhi did not react officially till Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai himself confirmed that it was the doing of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). He has now said so in public.

MD. Jahangir, a farmer in Amtali in the district of Barguna, was happily demonstrating to his peers how to use a Leaf Color Chart to determine when the plant needs urea fertilizer and how much to use -- “When the color of the paddy matches the dark green shade on the card, you know your crop is healthy and there is no need for fertiliser” -- Jahangir tells them proudly, pointing at his newly harvested paddy. In a visit to Barisal and surrounding Sidr affected areas last week, a team of BRAC officials met with farmers who were covered under its ongoing Agriculture Rehabilitation Programme. As part of the programme, farmers whose crops were destroyed, received High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds of rice, maize and vegetables, developed by BRAC's Agriculture Research Unit. The main purpose of this visit was to assess the farmers' response to this programme, particularly the performance of Aloron, the new hybrid Aus rice, seeds of which were distributed among the farmers in March -- April this year, for cultivation in the Aus season. As compared to traditional Aus rice, Aloron has more than three times the yield.

Environment

Housing is the third basic need of human beings, after food and clothing. It is not the individual house alone but a habitat with other facilities like hospitals, schools, prayer halls, play ground utilities and other recreational facilities. In other words, it's the environment with all support facilities for comfortable living that constitutes housing.

Bangladesh is mainly a deltaic plain of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra river systems. However, we have some tertiary upland in the northwest and some hills and hillocks in the southeastern area. Hills, plains and river basins -- all are created naturally; unfortunately, the mankind realizes their essentiality at least after doing much harm to the natural ecosystems.

Unprecedented hot weather in temperate climate the United States has taken the people unawares and made life difficult. It is the effect of climate change Americans are experiencing. From spell of scorching heat to tornadoes to heavy thundershowers as well as flood and draught have been occurring in many parts of the vast country.

Literature

Sharmila sat still in a corner seat of the subway, on her way home, from downtown. The officials in their shining towers had summoned her for a hearing after she had missed two citizenship tests in a row. So she had expected to find herself before a judge. Instead, she was led to a large testing area and handed a citizenship test. It was their way of having one take the test. Silly official people! The whole thing was s-o-o-o easy. It disappointed her, as had many other things, since she first arrived. What had she really expected of this land?

This is it! This is the book that Amitav Ghosh has talked about and read from during his recent visit to Dhaka (Sea of Poppies, Delhi: Penguin Viking, 2008). Anyone who has been to Ghosh's talk must remember his immediate response to the warm reception given to him by Independent University, Bangladesh: “I wish my parents were here to see how Dhaka had honoured me!” This remark mediated through a shadowy line combines personal 'desire' with the social aspects of language--an idea which I think is characteristic of almost all of Ghosh's writing.

Sharon, the dogs will, of course, call you The Man of PeaceBy your blessings they fill their stomachs with human meatIn the senate of the vultures you will surely get hundred percent vote in favour of your genocide.Those vile insects, donning their black jackets, will accord you a red carpet reception in the sandy desert land,for, you have given them as a present a favourable land, slippery with blood.

Sunset like copper pots and pansSlowly the grey settles in beneathThe waters of a scummy ditch,Country liquor, sweeper colony,Evenings shaped by formless revelryAimless talk, smattering of small shopsAs afternoon fogBumps in like a herd of unfenced swine.

Star Health

At least 15 percent of couples usually experience some degree of infertility with all of its feelings and frustrations at some point in their life. This issue is not less important than our problem regarding over crowded population.

3 months old Yousuf was born with cleft lip (a congenital deformity in face that leads to difficulty in feeding and makes susceptible to infections). But his family was unable to bear the expenses of the surgery that could correct his defect. Japan Bangladesh Friendship Hospital (JBFH) has recently organised a health camp at Madaripur district stadium where they identified Yousuf and offered the surgery free of cost. They provided healthcare by specialist physicians and teleconference for more than 1000 people at the camp. After surgical correction, Yousuf's mother is happy enough to see her child like other normal boy.

Tobacco companies manipulate the amount of menthol in cigarettes to make those first few puffs more palatable to young smokers, U.S. researchers said in a finding that could fuel support for more tobacco regulation.

Strategic Issues

THE Unites States is in a position to consolidate a long-term relationship with India, edge Pakistan away from chaos, prevent another regional war, and address such important issues as the spread of nuclear weapons, terrorism and China's regional role. United States looks at enormous economic profits. India has a population of more than 1 billion, which means a big market. India has already become the third largest economy in Asia after Japan and China. Then, the “China factor” is a strong boost to US- India relations. A US think-tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, recently issued a report on the US agenda with regard to the rising power of India namely India as a New Global Power: An Action Agenda for the United States. Similarly, the opening of the Indian economy has also encouraged India's civil society to expand its interactions especially exports with the United States.

THE Editor of Newsweek International has categorically spelt out "What Obama Should Say on Iraq." This is necessary as Zakaria prophesies that 'were he elected, the war would be his biggest and most immediate problem…..he….will need to implement a serious policy on Iraq…..that is…. informed by the conditions on the ground to-day.'

HOPE for peace and progress under emerging democracy in Pakistan is being increasingly mired in violence and uncertainty. The Afghan inferno is sucking the neighbourhood. Fighting terrorism continues to be the top agenda of the PPP government. The latest bombing in Karachi, Islamabad and the offensive in Khyber area to evade insurgent pressure on Peshawar, the capital city of the frontier province, are the signs that containing terrorists through war and ceasefire is far from achieved. That Americans have advised Pakistan to concentrate on antiterrorist operations and not to waste energy on the removal of president Musharraf is the strongest indicator of the ground reality. The continuation of President Musharraf and failing to allow the judges to get back to the courts within 100 days are signs that corrections of the military regime may have to wait longer.

Star Books Review

AIDE-Memoire is quite a few strands of thought coming together. And with Hasnat Abdul Hye's telling of the tale, or tales as the case may be, there is a feeling that readers will get to enjoy vicariously the experiences he relates in these accounts of his life. Ah, but then the writer, or perhaps a reader, might protest. Whoever said these accounts relate to Hye's life as he lived them between 1943 and 1954? There is --- isn't there? --- a narrator here, one who speaks impersonally, in third person singular? You do not get to spot Hye anywhere. It is always a 'he', always 'his' world of experience. And there lies the charm in the tale.

Sometimes Bangladesh seems like a literary wasteland. No time-winning fiction gets published. No new writers are promoted. Despite being a pro-stalwart literary area, none of the established novelists makes it a point to write in such a way that people read them, get back their lost reading habits. Too many people here exhaust themselves wrestling with poetry. Or is it? Do they find composing poems easier than writing short stories or novels? Writers who show potentials of writing good fiction spend most of their time writing newspaper columns on politics.

In democracy, the institution of election is held in high esteem. Democracy theorists consider this institution greatly essential not only for political legitimacy of the rulers and stability of the political order but also for integration of societal arrangement, system capability, participatory behavior and above all political institutionalization. It is through the means of election that the politicians bolster their assurance to deal with the crises involved in the process of nation and state building. The essence of this commitment is general agreement on the rule of the game of politics that in turn establishes trust in the election process and peaceful transfer of state power.

It is never difficult to lampoon a particularly flamboyant politician. In the United States, Richard Nixon was the subject of numerous novels, both while he was in office and shortly thereafter. Bill Clinton was the hero of Primary Colors, published anonymously early in his presidency. George Bush has been satirized on stage in two devastating dramas--and certainly more are in the works. American (and Western) writers certainly have no lock on the tradition. One thinks immediately of Nigeria's greatest writers--Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka--both of whom have borrowed lead characters from real life. The list is actually endless, once it is opened up to Latin America and Asia.